LAST WEDNESDAY marked the arrival of the University's newest Contracted Independent Organization (CIO): Hoos for Howard Dean. Sixty proud University students and community members came together for a "meetup," a popular new event whose definition falls somewhere between diversity and an honor offense on the scale of ambiguity. While it's certainly no secret Dean attracts more and more followers every day, voters should realize a would-be Dean presidency represents an American tragedy.
Howard Dean loves to campaign on his 11-year record as the governor of Vermont. The first thing to remember is that the population of Vermont (609,000) is dramatically less than even that of Fairfax County, Virginia. The second thing to remember is that Vermont is liberal, very liberal. Dr. Dean himself remarked, "In Vermont, politics is much further to the left. A Vermont centrist is an American liberal right now." Dean is certainly no George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan when it comes to former governors.
Dean boasts that Vermont maintained a balanced-budget during his term in office. While there is some truth to this claim, the method in which these balanced-budgets were attained is disturbing to say the least. In the later half of his term, Dean increased taxes on liquor, cigarettes, electrical energy, corporations, gasoline, hotel rooms, telecommunications and, of course, personal property and retail sales. Dean cut taxes in Vermont only once over his entire 11-year term and refused to do so even when Vermont was running large surpluses in the late 1990s. Howard Dean is the epitome of a tax-and-spend liberal.
One reason Dean takes such a keen interest in raising taxes and opposing tax cuts is that he knows such fiscal policy will be needed to finance one of the showpieces of presidential platform: universal health care. The words should send a chill down the spine of any sensibly thinking American. The socialistic plan is akin to Hillary Clinton's infamous universal health care plan of the 1990's and would send private health insurance premiums skyrocketing and in the end, actually force more Americans into the public plan, leading to even greater costsincreases. Just look at Vermont; thanks to a similar plan implemented by Dean, the state now has the third-highest percentage of Medicaid recipients in the United States. Dean proposes rolling back most, if not all, of Bush's 2001 tax cuts in order to pay for universal health care; tax cuts which are just now kicking the economy into high gear.
In a June 22 interview, Tim Russert asked Dean how many troops America has on active duty in the military. Dean responded that such a question is, "like asking me who the ambassador of Rwanda is." It's painfully ironic that a man who derides Bush at every opportunity for the large number of troops stationed in Iraq doesn't know how many men and women are currently in the armed forces. Two months earlier, Dean was quoted in Time magazine as saying, "We won't always have the strongest military." With the United States waging the war on terror, and both Iran and North Korea actively, and unabashedly pursuing nuclear weapons, such statements can be seen as nothing less than frightening. Dean opposing Gulf War II is one thing, but tolerating a corrosion of US military might is quite another. As the commander-in-chief, the president is sworn to defend the country, with military force where it warrants.
Currently, Dean comes in at second or third in most public opinion polls, right behind General Wesley Clark, whose campaign is still enjoying its initial pop. Additionally, with more than $6.4 million in cash on hand, Dean will decidedly still be in the hunt when the primaries begin to roll around. However, it remains to be seen whether Dean can continue to run seemingly a campaign of anger directed at President Bush.
Americans need to look beyond Dean's liberal platform and "Bush-bashing" to see the real Howard Dean. Why did Dean, a physician himself, allow abortions (especially on those under the age of 18) to be performed in Vermont by non-doctors? Why did Dean attempt to seal his gubernatorial records for 20 years, more than four times as long as his previous two predecessors? Why did Dean tout Vermont's civil-union legislation as "the most important event in my political life" and then sign the law behind closed doors? One would hope Dean will furnish us with answers to some of these questions before he takes his presumptive walk down the aisle next July in Boston at the Democratic National Convention.
(Joe Schilling column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at jschilling@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
GARVIE: Commend the University’s continuous care for the environment
By Adeline Garvie | YesterdayWe must applaud the University for the efforts they are continuously making to be more sustainable.
CARTER: Did anyone actually want VERVE?
By Nathaniel Carter | April 19, 2025While VERVE may shift student demand closer to Grounds, whether housing market effects will outweigh the harms of the University’s expanding presence is a gamble Charlottesville residents may not wish to take.
SCHENBERG: Our foreign students and colleagues deserve better
April 18, 2025I pray that we will not persecute now and atone later.
